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The Brothers Four
The Brothers Four are an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields". History Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at theUniversity of Washington, where they were members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity in 1956 (hence the "Brothers" appellation). Their first professional performances were the result of a prank played on them in 1958 by a rival fraternity, who had arranged for someone to call them, pretend to be from Seattle's Colony Club, and invite them to come down to audition for a gig. Even though they were not expected at the club, they were allowed to sing a few songs, and were subsequently hired. Flick recalls them being paid "mostly in beer." They left for San Francisco in 1959, where they met Mort Lewis, Dave Brubeck's manager. Lewis became their manager and later that yearSECURED them a contract with Columbia Records. Their second single, "Greenfields," released in January 1960, hit #2 on the pop charts,[2]and their first album, Brothers Four, released toward the end of the year, made the top 20. Other highlights of their earlyCAREER included singing their fourth single, "The Green Leaves of Summer," from the John Wayne movie The Alamo, at the 1961 Academy Awards, and having their third album, BMOC/Best Music On/Off Campus, go top 10. They also recorded the theme song for the ABCTELEVISION series Hootenanny, "Hootenanny Saturday Night," in 1963. They also gave a try at "Sloop John B", released as "The John B Sails".[3] The British Invasion and the ascendance of edgier folk rock musicians such as Bob Dylan put an end to the Brothers Four's early period of success, but they kept performing and making records, doing particularly well in Japan and on the AmericanHOTEL circuit. The group built with Jerry Dennon a radio station in Seaside, Oregon (KSWB) in 1968.[4] The station was subsequently sold in 1972 to a group from Montana, and later to a self-proclaimed minister, and finally merged into a larger conglomerate of radio stations. The group attempted a comeback by recording a highly commercial version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," but were unable to release it due to licensing issues, and The Byrds eventually stole their thunder by releasing their heralded version.[5] Mike Kirkland left the group in 1969, and was replaced by Mark Pearson, another University of Washington alumnus. In 1971, Pearson left and was replaced by Bob Haworth, who stayed until 1989 and was replaced by a returning Pearson. Dick Foley left the group in 1990 and was replaced by Terry Lauber. Despite all the changes and having spent 57 years in the business, the group is stillACTIVE. Selected discography Singles *1960 "Greenfields" – U.S. #2,[2] UK #40,[6] NOR #1 *1960 "My Tani" – US #50 *1960 "The Green Leaves of Summer" – US #65, NOR #10 *1961 "Frogg" – US #32 *1961 "Yellow Bird" *1962 "Blue Water Line" – US #68 *1963 "Hootenanny Saturday Night" – US #89 *1965 "Try to Remember" – US #91 *1966 "I'll Be Home for Christmas" – US #26[7] Albums *1960 The Brothers Four - U–S #11 *1960 Rally'Round! *1961 B.M.O.C. (Best Music On/Off Campus) US #4 *1961 Roamin' with The Brothers IV *1961 The Brothers Four Song Book – US #71 *1962 The Brothers Four: In Person – US #102 *1962 The Brothers Four Greatest Hits *1963 Cross-Country Concert – US #81 *1963 The Big Folk Hits – US #56 *1964 More Big Folk Hits – US #134 *1964 Sing Of Our Times *1965 The Honey Wind Blows – US #118 *1965 By Special Request *1966 Try To Remember – US #76 *1966 A Beatles' Songbook (The Brothers Four sing Lennon/McCartney) – US #97 *1966 Merry Christmas *1967 A New World's Record *1969 Let's Get Together[7] *1970 1970 *1996 Greenfields & OtherGOLD - new studio recording *1996 The Tokyo Tapes - 35th Anniversary - live cd *2010 Golden (50th) Anniversary - live cd *2014 Beautiful World - new studio and live cd *2016 title TBD - new upcoming live album Category:Bands